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WEST LAFAYETTE — In a game of turnovers — seven combined — the Ridgewood defense rose to the occasion holding county rival River View to 87 yards of offense.

"I thought our defense was dominant like I thought it should be. I thought we would stop the run all night long and I thought we played with great intensity," Ridgewood coach John Slusser said.

Along with the defensive effort, Ridgewood quarterback Jhett Slusser passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team to a 37-7 win against River View.

While Slusser's numbers are eye-popping, the Black Bears defense did a good job containing the Generals' offense. River View was mainly beaten by big plays, as Ridgewood's longest scoring drive was six plays, for 10 yards, which ended in a Keith Claxson 32-yard field goal.

"They didn't drive the ball and beat us up. We just gave up big plays, sometimes guys were trying to do things that weren't in the scheme of what we do. That is going to happen until they learn how to trust each other and what we are doing," River View coach Bob Forgrave said.

Touchdown passes of 73, 28 and 55 burned the Black Bear defense, giving the Generals confidence back in their offense after a struggle at Waynedale last week.

"We were just trying to come out here and score the first drive. That didn't happen, but we fought back," Braeden Smith, who tallied 55 yards receiving, one touchdown and two interceptions on the night said.

Catherine Berry Wegener holds a plaque in honor of her brother, long-time Ridgewood announcer Tom Berry, who passed away in August. The plaque will be placed in the stadium's pressbox. Chris Crook/Tribune

The first drive Smith was referring to, included a 34-yard connection between Slusser and Brice Hammond and a 10-yard run by Trent Harrison, but a bad snap ended the drive.

The snap flew over Slusser's head and Trevor Wine of River View recovered on the 30-yard line.

"That's when you have to take advantage of the opportunity and we aren't totally there yet, but we are working towards it," Forgrave said.

A few penalties set the Black Bears drive back, but their defense kept them in the game until Slusser connected with Hammond for a 73-yard touchdown pass with 1:24 to go in the first quarter.

At the end of the quarter, despite being out-gained 162 to five, the Black Bears only trailed 7-0.

"I wasn't surprised. I do think their defensive team is pretty good," Slusser said. "They struggled offensively, just like us, but defensively they are pretty good."

In the second quarter, the game opened up for Ridgewood. After Brice Hains blocked a River View punt, Slusser connected with Smith for a 28-yard touchdown. After a Keith Stewart interception to Smith, the Generals scored again, this time on the ground from 10 yards out by Billy Bailey.

"We are not going to win turning the ball over," Forgrave said. "We have to play poised, disciplined football and not turn the ball over. When we don't turn the ball over or give up big plays that will be our first win."

"After we got composed offensively we played how we could play," Jhett Slusser said.

The Generals went into the half leading 20-0, but Forgrave believed his team would come back.

"I really did," Forgrave said. "What hurt us was when we threw that pick. All we needed was a score and all of a sudden things change a little and they have to look at things a little differently."

The interception Forgrave mentioned, came on the Black Bears second drive of the game. They had the ball on the Ridgewood 25-yard line, but Stewart threw an interception right to the hands of Trent Harrison.

The next possession, Jhett Slusser connected with Rayven Davidson for a 55-yard touchdown pass. That made the score 29-0 with 2:07 to go in the third quarter, which pretty much sealed the game.

River View would add a touchdown by Zack Carroll with 12 seconds remaining, but despite the loss the Black Bears looked better on both sides of the ball than last Friday.

"I'm proud of them. They are working. We have Philo next week and if we keep staying on the course we are going to get some wins this year," Forgrave said.

The Generals will take their 2-1 record on the road to Sandy Valley Friday.

"It gets tough next week. I think nthey are the best team in the league," Slusser said. "It's going to be a tough one and we know that. We will find out what we are made of."